Tuesday, February 22, 2011

welcome to paradise

i've been in texas for six months now.
i hadn't really been counting the days and months, but a week or two ago i noticed that it was february, my half-birthday month, and that kind of tipped me off that my six-month anniversary for living in the lone star state was probably around.

like a lot of major life changes, it's a mixture of it not seeming real at all and feeling strangely normal. naturally, most days i don't even think about it. one day many years ago in japan, my companion noticed the "orient hotel" and then reminded himself that he was in the orient. same sort of thing here. i'm in texas. idaho and wyoming and las vegas are no longer nearby. but things like louisiana, arkansas, and hurricanes are relatively close to me now (when you live in central texas, anything other than "more texas" is a substantial distance away.)

six months. i've got my apartment mostly unpacked and looking like my home, finagled my way into teaching sunday school, and am getting back into the habit of being a good hometeacher again. i've got a friend to geek out about movies with, have hosted some good rock band nights, and my movie library continues to grow. i've got a group i eat dinner with on sundays, friends to do things with on friday nights, and i've been on some dates. i've interviewed with pixar, gotten somewhat used to the humidity here, and still don't say "y'all." i've written numerous blog posts that i'm proud of, been to the houston temple five times (i think), and managed to find opportunities to design real lighting for photography and other performances.